Amid the cry of "lonely raising" of childcare due to the prolonged corona, a plaza where children and adults can interact with each other in the community opened in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture last month.

The open space was opened by an organization in Kurume City that operates a children's cafeteria.



Open every Friday to Sunday morning with the concept of "mixing children and adults".

The vacant warehouse of the factory was renovated and completed by utilizing the subsidy of the Nippon Foundation's "Children's Third Whereabouts" project.

The area is about three classrooms in the school, and it is a place where many children and adults can play "freely", "easily" and "daringly", such as drawing pictures on the wall with chalk.

In addition to the playground, there is also a space where donated clothing, ingredients, sanitary napkins, etc. are lined up, all of which are provided free of charge.



In addition to supporting economically difficult households throughout the region, we also want the recipients to enjoy themselves as if they were shopping.



The reason for creating the plaza was the seriousness of "raising alone".



Since last year, the management organization has been commissioned by Kurume City to visit households that are judged to need to be watched over, and provide meal delivery and learning support, but the number has increased from 35 to 55 in the past year. increasing.

Ms. Michiko Nakamura, Deputy Representative, also feels that the connection with society is visibly weakened in such families.



"If" lonely raising "continues, you will not be able to interact with adults other than your parents, and when your child becomes an adult, you may have only the same options as your parents. That is why, both in terms of position and age. I think it is very important to increase the number of people involved in creating the future of children. "



In order to make it a place that expands the possibilities of children, we invited an outside lecturer from this month to start paying learning support.

Children can freely choose a classroom by holding hands-on classrooms such as calligraphy, abacus, and sign language at the same time.



Classes such as dance, programming, and theater are also planned.



"If we can make many choices while experiencing various experiences and meeting people, we can make our own choices even as adults. I want it to be such a place."